A team of mechanical and aerospace engineering students from the University of Queensland (UQ) has won a worldwide aviation design competition at the Paris Air Show.

More than 2,000 students from 82 countries took part in the "Fly Your Ideas" Challenge, run by aircraft maker Airbus.

The team beat finalists from the US, Czech Republic, Spain and Singapore.

Airbus Australia spokesman Ted Porter says judges were looking for projects that could become commercially viable, innovative, eco-efficient ideas to shape the future of aviation.

He says the students scored top marks for a prototype composite material that can be used to build parts of an aircraft cabin.

"The UQ team developed a composite material based on the castor plant," he said.

"What the Queensland team was able to demonstrate - and this is what impressed the panel of jurists - they weren't working in theory, they had a practical application and that they had in fact produced the goods and were able to give a sample of this composite."

Mr Porter says Airbus has also taken out a patent on the invention.

"These young men will be named on the patent as the inventors," he said.

The team also took home a EUR30,000 (AU$52,000) prize.